Ethnoarchaeology of the Kel Tadrart Tuareg: Pastoralism and Resilience in Central Sahara

164 Pages·2014·6.318 MB·English

by  Stefano Biagetti (auth.)

SPRINGER BRIEFS IN ARCHAEOLOGY
Stefano Biagetti
Ethnoarchaeology
of the Kel Tadrart
Tuareg
Pastoralism and
Resilience in
Central Sahara
SpringerBriefs in Archaeology
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/10186
Stefano Biagetti
Ethnoarchaeology
of the Kel Tadrart Tuareg
Pastoralism and Resilience
in Central Sahara
123
Stefano Biagetti
Parcde Recerca—Ciències
SocialsiHumanes
Universitat PompeuFabra
Barcelona
Spain
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ISSN 1861-6623 ISSN 2192-4910 (electronic)
ISBN 978-3-319-08529-6 ISBN 978-3-319-08530-2 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-08530-2
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In memory of my father
Preface
The main tenet of this book is the investigation of mechanisms of pastoral
adaptation in hyper arid environments. Based on a field research carried out
between 2003 and 2009 among the Kel Tadrart Tuareg in SW Libya in the frame
of ‘‘The Archaeological Mission in the Sahara’’ of Sapienza University of Rome,
this book explores various facets of a surprisingly successful adaptation to an
extremely arid environment. My research vigorously shows that the resilience of
theKelTadrartisthekeytounderstandthereasonsfortheirchoicetostayandlive
inthealmostrainlessAcacusMts.,inspiteofstrongpressuretosedentarizeinthe
neighboring oases.
By means of an ethnoarchaeological approach, I explore the Kel Tadrart inter-
actionswithnaturalresources,thesettlementpatterns,thecampsitestructures,and
theformationofthepastoralarchaeologicallandscape,focusingonvariabilityand
its causes. Through the collection of the interviews, participant observation,
mapping of inhabited and abandoned campsites, remote sensing, and archival
sources,IexaminethevariousanddifferentKelTadrartstrategies,perceptions,and
material culture to illustrate how desert pastoralism is a rather complex phenom-
enon,wherethe12householdsinhabitingamountainregionofc.5,000 km2make
different choices to optimize their survival. Rather than considering them as a
marginalized, peripheral, and agonizing society, I show that the Kel Tadrart are
insteadanoutstandingexampleofsuccessfuladaptationtoextremeenvironments.
Thisinturnleadsmetoreconsiderthehistoricalagefrequentationsintheviewof
theKelTadrartresilience,sheddinglightontoaquitemisunderstoodarchaeological
landscape,wherethesofarreportedabsenceofevidencedoesnotcorrespondtothe
evidence ofabsence.
This book is conceived as a gradual flow of concepts, elaborating a research
narrativeaimedatbuildingagradualunderstandingofpastoralisminthedesertsin
anethnoarchaeologicalperspective.Itisorganizedintoeightchapters,plusasetof
Slides available online. In Chap. 1, I introduce some basic theoretical issues, and
focus on methodology, fieldwork procedure, and techniques of data treatment.
Inthefollowingsection(Chap.2),Ipresentanoverviewoftheenvironment,inthe
scope of describing the environmental settings relevant to human occupations.
vii
viii Preface
In Chap. 3, I reconstruct the recent history of the Kel Tadrart mainly using
ethnohistorical sources and information from the neighboring mountains of the
Tassili and Hoggar (both in Algeria). In the next section (Chap. 4), I discuss the
Kel Tadrart settlement pattern, studying the position of settlements in relation to
natural resources, status, and kinship. Chapter 5 includes a detailed study of the
Kel Tadrart settlements, with emphasis on the investigation of the peculiar
coexistence of different types of dwelling huts. Abandoned settlements are the
subjectofChap.6,whichconveysthedatadiscussedinthepreviouschaptersand
aimsatdiscussingthevariousvestigialremainsofnolongerusedsites,interpreted
asthematerialevidenceofdifferent typesoffrequentations.Thesuitabilityofthe
TadrartAcacus for pastoraloccupation observed inthe‘present’ is the basisfor a
short ethnoarchaeologically inspired revision (Chap. 7) of overlooked archaeo-
logicalevidencerelatedtohistoricandrecent(c.1000AC–present)frequentations
erratically found in past years in the study area. The end of the book (Chap. 8)
features some conclusive remarks, putting together main issues discusses in the
previous sections and pinpointing some critical argument related to future devel-
opmentofarchaeologicaland ethnoarchaeological researchin the Sahara.
Acknowledgments
This research was technically and financially supported by funds from ‘The
Archaeological Mission in the Sahara’ of Sapienza University of Rome, directed
bySavinodiLernia.Permitstoaccesstheareaandfacilitieshavebeengrantedby
the Department of Archaeology of Libya to Sapienza University of Rome. My
warmest thanks go to Kevin MacDonald, who enthusiastically supervised and
supported me throughout this research. Jasper M. Chalcraft has been an excep-
tionalteammateinthefieldwork.MauroCremaschi,AnnaMariaMercuri,Andrea
Zerboni, Emanuele Cancellieri, Lucia Mori, Lucia Cavorsi, Tiziano Latini,
Giansimone Poggi, Alessandro Vanzetti, Francesca Ricci, Isabella Massamba
n’Siala, and Andrea Monaco have significantly helped and inspired me in my
research. Marina Gallinaro’s IT assistance has been extremely appreciated. In
Libya, I thank the whole personnel from the Department of Archaeology, both in
Sabha and in Tripoli. In particular, I express my gratitude to Saad Saleh Abdul
Aziz, who facilitated myresearch inthe Tadrart Acacus. Special thanks go tomy
local interpreters Dawd, Saduig, and Ali, who really did the impossible in trans-
lating my odd questions. Naturally, I am deeply grateful to the Kel Tadrart of the
Acacus, who welcomed me and made my research time really enjoyable. Ulti-
mately, I am deeply grateful to Valentina, and to my children Alice and Remo,
who cheerfully encouraged me, in spite of my long absences. Without their love
and support, I would have not been able to achieve this.
ix
Contents
1 Research Objectives, Materials and Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Introducing Ethnoarchaeology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.3 The Sahara Desert: A ‘Marginal Centre’ of African Studies? . . . 3
1.4 Types Versus Variation in the Archaeological
Study of Pastoralism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.5 Ethnoarchaeology of Pastoral Sites in Arid Lands. . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.6 Research Objectives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.7 Materials and Methods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.7.1 Earlier Preliminary Research, Schedule
and General Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.7.2 The ‘Regional’ Level of Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.7.3 The ‘Site’ and the Settlement Patterns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.8 Survey of Deserted Campsites in the Acacus Mts.. . . . . . . . . . . 10
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2 The Environment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.1 The Tadrart Acacus Massif and Central Sahara. . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.2 Geomorphology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.3 Climate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.4 Flora and Vegetation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.5 Main Features of the Tadrart Acacus Landscape. . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.5.1 Valleys and Pastures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.5.2 Water Resources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.5.3 Shelters and Caves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
2.5.4 Paths and Passageways . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
xi